What Expectant Mothers Need To Know About COVID-19

Pregnancy has the potential to be stressful even without a global pandemic. Last week, women who are expecting were added to the high-risk category for COVID-19. 

The high-risk designation doesn't necessarily mean that pregnant women are more likely to contract COVID-19, according to Dr. Carolyn Harraway-Smith, Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cone Health. 

“It just means that if a mother were to screen positive, we would watch her more closely to make sure that her disease process was not worse than the general population,” she says.

Harraway-Smith says that if you're in your first or second trimester, routine prenatal visits are shifting to telehealth.

And if you're closer to your due date, many hospitals are now limiting visitors. At Cone Health that means a woman will be allowed to have one person with them during their hospital stay.

If you have questions or are showing symptoms of COVID-19, contact your primary care provider before going to an emergency room or doctor's office.

For more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on pregnancy and COVID-19, click here.

And for the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here.